Miami-UCF: Hurricanes Barely Weather Stormy Knights? Hardly

Okay, so the 27-7 victory the Miami Hurricanes had over the UCF Knights yesterday wasn’t the absolute destruction ‘Canes fans saw when Miami routed the FAMU Rattlers a week ago. However, it certainly wasn’t as close a game as some in the press are already making it out to be, either.

The No. 1-ranked Florida Gators got a much closer game from unranked Arkansas yesterday, as they barely managed to escape losing their first game to the upset-minded Razorbacks, beating them 23-20 on a 27-yard Caleb Sturgis field goal in the final minutes of the game.

The No. 2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide even got a better game from the No. 22-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, who, even though they allowed bulldozing Crimson Tide running back, Mark Ingram, to amass a career-high 246 yards, forced four turnovers, and kept the score to a respectable 20-6 loss to the team many believe is the best in the nation.

The No. 3-ranked Texas Longhorns played the Red River Shootout as if they’d come to a gunfight without any ammo. Colt McCoy looked dismal. His thumbnail supposedly was hanging by a thread and he apparently had a bad cold.

His play on the field certainly reflected that, and he should be thankful for his team’s incredible defense that knocked out Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford in the first quarter and harassed his replacement, Landry Jones, just enough to preserve a squeaker of a win over the Sooners, 16-13.

The No. 6-ranked USC Trojans not only got a better game out of Notre Dame, they got a scare that probably aged Pete Carroll a few years before the final gun as he was forced to watch the Fighting Irish’s Jimmy Clausen throw three incomplete passes into the end zone in the closing seconds before he could breathe a sigh of relief at his team’s narrow 34-27 victory.

Two other highly-ranked squads not only got a game from their opponents, they suffered the agonizing sting of defeat, doing serious damage to any title hopes those programs may have held.

The No. 4-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies watched as Georgia Tech’s Josh Nesbitt tore their defense to shreds, rushing for 122 yards and three touchdowns—the last of them a 39-yard score with three minutes left—as the No. 19-ranked Yellow Jackets lodged the biggest upset of the day in beating them 28-23.

The No. 7-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes also saw any hope of a title this year go right out the window as they watched Purdue’s Joey Elliott prove he’s just as good a college quarterback as Drew Brees ever was for the Boilermakers while throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns to stun them 26-18.

Considering how the rest of the nation’s top-ranked teams fared against their opponents, I’d say No. 9-ranked Miami’s 27-7 victory over a very tough University of Central Florida squad is rather impressive. The Hurricanes dominated the Knights in my view.

That’s not to diminish how well the Knights played in this game, either, or to ignore the fact they did have a chance at upsetting the Hurricanes.

The 45,000 fans in the seats in the Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando (known as “The Trampoline” because the fans bounce the seats so badly when they cheer) definitely thought they might be able to—I should know since one of them was my brother, who called me during the third quarter to tell me the Knights might be about to score.

Of course I was watching the game myself and didn’t need the call, but I was as troubled as he seemed as he talked to me, screaming as best he could to overcome the noise from the fans, who were beyond excited since the Knights, down only 17-7, had gotten the ball on the Miami two yard-line after a botched punt by the ‘Canes.

Those fans would be disappointed, though, as they watched the final turning point of the contest, witnessing the Hurricanes stop their beloved UCF team in its tracks in their attempt to get the game within three points.

First UCF’s quarterback, Brett Hodges, tried an option pitch to running back Brynn Harvey that resulted in a four-yard loss for the Knights. He then threw an incomplete pass to receiver A.J. Guyton on second-and-goal.

For his and the Knight’s sake, I’m sure he wishes he could have completed that pass, for on the next play he was blindsided by Miami’s Jared Campbell and his pass attempt was intercepted by the ‘Canes’ Colin McCarthy, ending UCF’s bid at a score and effectively ending the game.

The Knight’s defense accounted themselves far better than the offense did on that series. They sacked Miami’s Jacory Harris six times on the night, and generally made the Hurricanes play a little ball in order to win.

Unfortunately for UCF, Miami did play some ball, with Harris shaking off those six sacks to complete 20 of 26 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown. Javarris James and Damien Berry each rushed for a score as well, with James reaching the 2,000 yard mark for his career in the process.

Said James after the game, “This is why I came here. We’ve been having a tough time since I got here—different coaches, different offensive schemes. Finally, for our seniors, we’re getting the prize.”

The prize he’s talking about may be the possible chance for the Hurricanes to play for the ACC Championship and a possible BCS Bowl bid if VT loses one more conference game. Heck, with the way the rest of the ranked teams are playing, they might even have a shot at the national title, although Miami fans should curtail any high hopes for that just yet.

The Hurricanes (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will be coming home this following week to Land Shark Stadium where they’ll begin a five-game stretch against ACC opponents when they face off against the Clemson Tigers next Saturday. After the last two Miami opponents Clemson will be a real test of the ‘Canes resolve and determination to make this year special for their fans.

Clemson (3-3, 2-2 ACC) will come into that game having dismantled Wake Forest 38-3 yesterday, and will be looking to improve their conference standing. Shannon and the ‘Canes must not take this game lightly, and should treat the Tigers as if they were the New England Patriots.

If Randy motivates the boys from South Beach properly I have no doubts Miami should be able to win the game against Clemson. Will it be a blowout? Probably not. However, even if it’s as close as this game they just had against UCF the media should stop with all these attempts to jump off the Hurricanes bandwagon.

Miami, in my view, controls their own destiny the rest of the year. They just need to win out, and those wins don’t always have to be 30-point blowouts. When all is said and done it’ll be the number of Ws they have in the Win column that will be the only number anyone is concerned with, not the numbers in any of the scores of the games.

Quote taken from the Miami Herald recap of the game